Foldable kneeling rail



- Oct". 20, 1936.

w. D. GALLAGHER,

' FOLDABLE KNEELING RAIL Filed Aug. 12, 1955 INVENTOR. William D.Gallagher ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2.057.944 FOLDABLE KNEELING RAIL William D. Gallagher, Perry, Iowa Application August 12, 1935, Serial No. 35,130 V 1 Claim. (01. 155-166) The principal object of my invention is to pro vi d e a foldable kneeling rail for funerals and like that 'may be easily and quickly folded into a compact non-usable condition for storage and/or transportation and can be just as quickly and easily unfoldedinto an extended usable condition.

n further object of this invention is to provide a. foldable kneeling rail that permits the ready removal or replacement of its decorative draperies or coverings.

h Still further objects of my invention are to provide afolding "or collapsible kneeling rail that is strong and rigid in construction, light in weight,

refined in appearance, economical in manufacture, and durable in use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

a My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,

pointed out in. my

claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in. which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my apparatus ready for use. Fig. 2 isa folded. v

Fig. 3 is folded condition.

Fig: 4 takenon line 4-4 Fig. 5 is a front top plan view of my kneeling rail an end view of my kneeling rail in is a cross sectional view of the device of Fig. 1. view of an end portion of my kneeling rail with the knee rail folded upwardly and one ofthe front legs and support folded inwardly, but with the upper back bar rail still in normal operative position. a

Fig.- 6 is an enlarged front view of the cross and container detachably secured to the upper back rail bar of the device. 1

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of theupper portion line 1-4 of Fig. 5.

those who care to ofmy kneeling rail taken on use it. Thesekneeling rails must obviously beportable in order that they may be moved from pla furnished and set co to place; They are usually up by the mortician, but are highly objectionable from a bulk and weight standpoint.

I have overcome such 1 objections by providingalight strong portable kneeling rail that is foldable, thereby facilitating its transportation and ram usage d installation at location of two back leg posts by the numerals I I and I2 and 5 they extend substantially above the plane of the bar I 0 and below the plane of the bar 10, as shown in the drawing. The numeral 13 designates a support wing hinged for horizontal swinging movement to each of the leg posts I l and 12.

The numerals l4 and I5 designate two front leg posts on the outer free ends of the two Wings 13, respectively. These two front legs have heights much less than the heights of the leg posts 'H and 12. The numeral I6 designates a plurality of bracket arms hinged at their rear ends to the member [0. These bracket arms normally extend forwardly but may be swung upwardly to positions parallel with the leg posts II and 12 and at locations between these members II and I2. Rigidly secured on the outer free end portions of the bracket arms is a knee railbar H. The numeral I8 designates a pad element onthe top of the rail H. The numeral l9 designates a detachable decorative covering over the pad element l8. This cover I9 has its two side marginal edge portions lapped under the bar rail I1 and detachably secured to the underside of this bar rail by ordinary snap fasteners Obviously, the free ends of the bracket arms and the kneeling rail must be supported when in extended operative position in substantially a horizontal plane and I accomplish this by having them rest on the two wing portions l3 and front leg posts l4 and I5, as shown in Fig. 1. on the under side of the kneeling rail and near each of its ends is a tongue flange 2|. Each of these tongue flanges is designed to enter and engage a slot groove 22 on each of the wings l3, respectively. By this arrangement, when the device is in operative condition the kneeling rail will be properly and successfully supported and the tongues and grooves 2i and 22 will rigidly prevent the swinging of the wing arms l3 away from the kneeling rail, thereby assuring a very strong,

rigid. construction. A metallic end member 23 may be secured to each end of the kneeling rail, as shown in Fig. 1. These metallic end members 23 may be integral with the tongue flanges 2| and when the device is in operative condition provide direct metallic contact with the wing arms 13, thereby aiding the tongue flanges and grooves 2| and 22 in preventing the inward swinging movement of the wing arms [3 and front post legs I4 and I5 from positions shown in Fig. 1.

Obviously, when the wing arms I3 are in extended positions and the kneeling rail is in operative position, the wing arms I3 will be held against relative swinging movement in any direction. These metallic end plates 23 also protect the ends of the kneeling rail and especially so during the folding of the kneeling rail from operative to inoperative positions or from inoperative to operative positions.

The numeral 24 designates the upper back head or arm rail. Extending downwardly from each end of this back railing 24 are post portions, which I have designated by the numerals 25 and 26, respectively. The lower ends of these members 25 and 26 are hingedly secured to the upper ends of the back leg posts I I and I 2, respectively, and when the device is in operative condition these portions 25-and 26 may be considered to be mere extensions of the vertical leg posts I I and I2. The hinge connections of the members 25 and 26 to the members I I and I 2 are such that the rail 24 carrying the members 25 and 26 may be swung forwardly and downwardly to a position shown in Fig. 3. The numeral 21 designates a horizontal slot opening in the horizontal back rail 24. The numeral 28 designates a cross bar secured to and extending between the lower end portions of the members 25 and 26. The numeral 29 designates a cross bar extending between and secured to the upper end portions of the members Hand I2. When the device is in unfolded extended condition these horizontal cross bars 28 and 29 are adjacent each other, as shown in Fig. 4, and are then positioned in a plane adjacent the back plane of the device. The numeral 30 designates a catch member for rigidly securing the cross bars 28 and 29 to each other at times and is located opposite from that of the hinges securing the members 25 and 26 to the members II and I2.

This catch member 36 may be of any suitable type, but preferably should be one of the draw type in order that when placed in looking position it will tightly draw the cross bars 28 and 29 toward each other. In order that the members 25 and 26 will be properly aligned when in extended vertical condition with the members II and I2 and will also be more rigidly secured to the members II and I2, I have provided tongue flanges 3| on the bottom of each of the members 25 and 26 capable of entering and engaging slot grooves 32 formed in the upper ends of the members II and I2, respectively.

The numeral 33 designates a decorative drape having its upper end portion threaded forwardly through the slot opening 21 and then bent backwardly to fold around the upper portion of the back rail 24, as shown in Fig. 7.. The upper end of the drape 33 is detachably secured to its back by snap fasteners 34. By this arrangement both the cover I9 and drape 33 may be easily and quickly detached or replaced, thereby making possible the rapid change of the cover and drape, which is necessary for cleaning and repair or the substitution of different color covers and drapes to meet various conditions. Usually, it will be desired that the drape andkneeling rail cover be of a color to blend with or match that of the color of the casket and as caskets are in various colors it is highly desirable that these members be easily changed or substituted. To remove a drape it is merely necessary to release the snap fasteners 34 and remove the drape from the slot opening 21. By bringing the upper portion of the drape over and around the top of the bar rail 24 a substantial padding for the top of the bar 24 is provided.

Any suitable ornament may be secured to the top corner portion of the back rail 24. In the drawing, I show a detachable container and cross 35. Such members are detachably secured to the rail 24 by a wedge tongue 36 slidably engaging a dove-tailed groove 31, as shown in Fig. 6.

To fold my apparatus it is merely necessary to swing the kneeling rail carried by the arm brackets I6 upwardly to a position between the back leg posts II and I2, as shown in Fig. 5 and as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. With the kneeling rail in this position the tongue flanges 2| will be out of engagement with the grooves 22 and the entire kneeling rail will be in a position between the two wing arms I3 and at this time it is then merely necessary to fold the two wing arms I3 carrying the front leg posts I4 and I5 inwardly andover the bottom of the kneeling rail, as shown in Figs. 2, '3, and 5. When these elements are thus foldedthey will occupy an area only slightly more than that of the widths of the members II and I2 and the space extending between these members I I and I2, as shown in Fig. 3. To complete the folding of my device the catch 30 is unlocked and the bar rail 24 carrying the portions 25 and 26 is swung forwardly and downwardly over the upper end portions of the wings I 3, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby holding the wing arms I3 and kneeling rail assembly in closed folded positions. When thus folded, my apparatus will have a height only substantially that of the height of the members I I and I2. With my device folded, it is verycompact and may easily be carried from location to location. If desired, it may be placed in a comparatively small box or carrying case.

The device may be folded or unfolded without attention being paid to the drape 33or cover I9. In Figs. 2 and 3, I show the drape resting over and around the entire top of the folded device, but this is merely illustrative.

Although my deviceis particularly designed for use at funerals, obviously it may be used on other occasions and at various places wherever a kneeling rail is desirable.

To unfold my kneeling rail it is merely necessary to swing the upper back bar portion 24 upwardly, the wing portions I3 outwardly, and the kneeling rail portion downwardly. The drape 33 should be of suificient length as to pass downwardly forward of the cross members 28' and 29 and to a position near the base bar I0. All of the parts of the device except the padding I8, cover I9, and drape 33 may be made of any suitable rigid material, but in order to get lightness and strength, I particularly recommend aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of 'my improved foldable kneeling rail without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

In a foldable kneeling rail, two spaced apart back leg post members, a brace base bar extend ing between said two leg members rigidly securing said two leg members together, a vertical wing arm portion hingedly secured for horizontal swinging movement to the front edge of each of said two back post members, two spaced apart bracket members hinged to the front side of said brace base bar for vertical swinging movements, an elongated kneeling bar member rigidly secured to the outer end portions of said bracket members, a projecting portion having a groove on the inner side of each of said two wing arms for supporting said elongated kneeling bar member when said bar member is near a horizontal position, two lugs on the bottom of said elongated kneeling bar member for entering and engaging said front portion of said head rest member above 1 said slot opening.

WILLIAM D. GALLAGHER. 

